The Indian market has been flooded with TWS earbuds since last year. There has been a need for ANC headphones as people got confined to their households. And if an Indian household is any indication, there are more people living in the house than there are rooms available. So, the home environment gets too much, especially during your work hours.
Now, the ANC headphones here come to the rescue. If you have been looking for a budget TWS option with an Active Noise Cancellation feature, then Boult has this new offering called AirBass SoulPods. Today, I’m going to review them in detail for you guys.
Design and Comfort
Right off the bat, the matte finish design feels quite elegant and gives this pair of TWS earbuds a premium look. Thank god for the matte design as it doesn’t tend to leave any kind of fingerprint smudges. It’s lightweight in nature, exact size unknown as not stated on the website or any e-commerce portal where they are available for purchase, which is strange.
Moving along, you should know that the top of these earbuds is long, and maybe that’s the reason for longer battery life, as a relatively larger battery could be packed inside each earbud. These are in-ear-type earbuds, but not too pointy, which is how I prefer my earbuds. The black and grey colour combo gives it an overall brilliant look.
These days brands are slapping big logos on their products, and Boult Audio is taking that seriously. And it’s a good thing for people who like flaunting the brands of the products they are using. Plus, it’s good for brands to get identified easily in the crowd. So, I guess, this practice will keep happening. Enough about keeping up with appearances, let’s talk about the comfort factors of SoulPods.
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Lately, I have been using a lot of TWS earbuds, and I say with full content that these new Boult Audio TWS earbuds are quite comfortable to wear, but unfortunately not a snug fit for my ears. Of course, changing the earbud tips has helped me gain little control over the fit. But I would say there are better-fitting earbuds out there for me.
The one thing that I missed talking about first is how the charging case looks. Well, if you are going to open these for someone else to use, be ready for the feeling of proposing because it looks like an engagement ring box.
I’m not a fan of these types of TWS charging cases. They look nice, but only when the hatchet is kept open. Because it’s kind of a struggle to open them every time you want to attend a call. I don’t think it’s a practical design if you are on the move, while it’s perfectly fine if you are relaxed and sitting on a desk. What I’m complaining about is that they need two hands to open the flap, and that’s not a pretty picture to paint when you are writing a review. Nevertheless, I like the design of the earbuds themselves, but not a fan of charging cases.
Let’s end there. Wait..I’ve more things to talk about Boult AirBass SoulPods.
Specs, Gesture Control, and Battery Life
On the specs part, they come with 10mm dynamic drivers powering the sound system in this TWS pair. Boult also shares that their earbuds come with a noise filter processor, which supposedly filters out the noise, thus giving you a better sound quality. There’s not much to specifications here as the brand itself has not shared much.
Speaking about absence, there is no auto-wear detection feature available here on these TWS earbuds, which is quite surprising as most of the earbuds these days offer an auto-wear detection feature. It has become a basic function. Nevertheless, not many would miss it, though. Thankfully, you get Gesture controls on these buds, which works pretty well. I have been using these earbuds for more than a week and there does not seem to be an issue with them so far.
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The battery life seems to be the best feature of these TWS earbuds. The SoulPods have lasted me for more than what I expected. Being a frequent TWS earbuds user, I must have reviewed almost 2 Dozen earbuds so far, and even after that Boult Audio was able to surprise me with its battery life. They lasted me for around 5 hours per charging cycle, and around 20 hours of usage with the charging case. That’s not bad, not bad at all. Furthermore, when I consider ANC usage, they gave me a playback of around 3.5 hours, which is quite generous, considering the ANC chip also sucks the battery life. Note that I usually keep the volume levels to 70%, so the test conditions by the company might be different, which is why the different numbers. Overall, this is fantastic battery life.
Audio Quality and ANC
Talking about the audio quality of any earbuds is like running through them an Agni Pariksha. If they can pass this test, they will be called worthy, otherwise, they won’t be worthy at all. Well, let’s not get so dramatic, but yes, audio quality matters a lot, like the most important factor, because you are mostly buying it for listening to music or watching movies. Thus, I’m happy to report that Boult Audio SoulPods passed the AgniPariksha with flying colours. The lows, mids, and highs are quite balanced, and that’s why you don’t have to worry about audio quality. Furthermore, the bass and treble work in tandem to create a balanced output for a wonderful audio experience.
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Now speaking about the ANC, the company claims best-in-class Active Noise Cancellation at just 35dB, which is quite alluring, to say the least. I have been using these earbuds in all types of environments, in my house, office, Delhi Metro, and even in the markets. And I have noticed that its ANC works pretty much everywhere, it cancels out most of the unwanted noises. This TWS pair has helped me concentrate in the harshest noise environment. Of course, if you are expecting Sony and Bose headphones at the level of ANC, then you don’t know their league at all. I’d urge you to audition for premium audio equipment whenever you can. Many audiophile communities are offering the same.
Overall, I found the audio quality and ANC on par with the pricing of Boult Audio SoulPods. You would not be let down by them as far as audio quality is considered.
Connectivity and Call Quality
Sometimes connectivity and call quality are on top of the mind when you are buying a pair of earbuds these days because let’s face it. There are many TWS out there not doing this part right. Now if you are wondering the same for these SoulPods, then you don’t have to worry since they offer reliable connectivity features.
Starting with Bluetooth 5.0 version support, which makes it capable of delivering reliable connectivity. I didn’t experience any connection issues whether it was indoors or outdoors streaming. No complaints regarding connectivity, except it’s displeasing to know that there’s no multipoint connectivity feature available on these SoulPods. It’s fine if you have not connected these earbuds with multiple devices, which I did for testing purposes.
After spending more than a week using these earbuds as my primary TWS for calling, I could say that sound quality is good as reported by many parties on the other end of the call. I was also able to hear the caller/recipient clearly. The dual-mics (1 calling mic and the other is noise cancellation mic) on each earbud made sure that there won’t be any suffering from poor call quality.
Should you buy the Boult AirBass SoulPods?
I have been noticing the journey of Boult Audio, over the past couple of years, they have ramped up the offering in the affordable range. Their efforts to democratize the TWS in India are quite commendable. The AirBass SoulPods TWS is their latest offering that comes with ANC at a price tag of just Rs 2,499. It’s crazy to think you would have to shell out more than 10X to get a pair of ANC TWS two years back. This is truly amazing! Isn’t it?
Overall, I had a good experience with Boult Audio’s AirBass SoulPods. They are worth every penny you spend on them. Go for it. Pick them up from Flipkart or the company’s official store.
Vishal Toshiwal
Vishal is the Swiss-knife at Cashify, he takes pride at his behind the camera skills of shooting poor portraits. He’s a creative thinker who comes up with the weirdest ideas. You can find him posting on Instagram or tweeting his thoughts on south Indian music and cinema.